The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-07-13
Timely Matter for the Season on a
Variety of Agricultural
Subjects.
Making Clover Hay---Swii Milk IN
wholesome---Live Stock in july
Ornamental Grasses,
Make the Farm Home PLEASANT
Ponds for Trout Propagation
Plant Motions.
Peg-awsy Jobs on the Farm-Why Dc
Bees and sgasps Sting? -Rhubarb-
Arabian Horses---Farm Notes.
Making Glover Hay.

When properly cut and cured, writes
Stephen Powers in The Country Gentle
man, clover hay is one of the very best
folders On the farm; on the other haud,
1t may be one of the worst. My clover is
generally thick and heavy, oftentimes coz
siderably lodged, and find il difficult to
finish OF with long, sharp, point 70 vs.
without getting the moTing-machine
fouled. To avoid this generally lay OFF
LAID with stakes, 60 that 1t shall be of
the same width throughout. L want the
sweths 10 come out even, SO that the ma.
chine viii sweep the last one clear through
withOUt cioggiDg On rich laud IL nearly
always pass TO SOW clover with orchard
erase. as they ripen about the same time,
and the orchard grass will hold the clover
up. Glover which is Logged or sPrawled
far cut along the ground loses mush Of its
value, sven what little of it the machine
cuts.
Igenerally take off the tail-rake. This
is useful in upright grass, but in clover,
especially If it is lodged, 1t Is hindrdnce.
In pulling the cut grass over out OF the
track it brings along with it more or less
of the uncut grass, and this Is throT n
down fat by the of horse and the ma
chine-shoe and remains uncut to tangle
the teeth Of the hayrake. / made for my
self tailrake which gives me better salts
faction than any / ever bought with the
mower. l take pieces of green white oak
about ! 4 inches thick, steam them aud
bend them into the shape OF an ox-bow.
There are three of them. The ends are
sharpeDed, inserted into the iron socke.s
and fastened with screws which makes q
balloon shaped track-clearer tnat viii
nsver foul when the machine is oa liked
around on gee" turn.
Heavy clover should not be cut IN tas
dew. Ia the first place, the track clearer
mil inf 10 4
wet; and. second, when it has been cut
and laid fiat il will not dry out nearly as
soon ss IL would have done If standing
Neither do like to cut clover right 10 the
middle of the day, unless it is cloudy, for
if1he sun Is shining hot the clover Wits go
fast that the first cut gets too far along be-
fore the last is ready to be raked. 1t is
more satisfactory to cut late in the after
noon, then the dew will fall only on the
surface of the swath during the night, and
will dry of quickly in the morning, and
the whole batch that was NOVA Will be
nearly at the same stage of willing at once.
The coarse clover which grows on river
bottoms requires more summing than up
land growth would. 1t is so coarse that it
has to be cut green-say when not more
than half blossomed out-in order to make
palatable hay out of the stalks; and at this
stage of growth the stalks are so succuent
that they must be dried until some OF the
leaves turn black and crisp, else they will
not be cured.
1t is better TO lose a part of the leaves
than TO have the stalks left too sappy aud
mold in the NOW. But upland clover OF
course may and ought to be cured without
loss of leaves. If the clover Is heavy and
lodged, have the hay.rake driven around
the land" the same way the mower was;
not backward and forward. This is 1.-The
smooth way of the world" the rake-teeth
are not so likely to get tangled in uncut
grass and stall the horse. | never use a
ted6er, bat if the sIaths are some What
bunchy have men pass over them rapidly
with ptchforks and toss open the bfhches
soon after the mower il done.
Fit is dry season, and the clover not very
saply wheL cut? rave it hauled in dt
rtouy from the winrow while the heat Of
the sun Is diffussd all through it. The nat
DTal moisture of clover very seldom does il
any injury in the NOW. But if the season
is wet and the clover juicy, after it Is wilted
mp to the point where the most exposed
leaves begin to turn black and crisp, have
it raked and put up into cocks as high as
mans head, and Of a liberal size, and Their
capped If necessary. We are in no hurry
TO haul 1t in, but 90 on cutting. EVery
few hours l thrust my arm deep into the
heart of the largest cocks; if they show
little heat they are opened out into five o.
SIX thick fakes, and left exposed to the sur
two or three hours. Then the fakes can b.
be readily put together into a cock az ain
or pitched on a wagon to be hauled in
Sometimes l let the cocks stand out two
three and four days, il the weather is not
very unfavorable. If the season is sho very
and | am compelled to haul in some Of il
little green, endesvor to spread il around
thin in number o. mows. or elsa interlay
wheat straw in il, about foot of each alter
nately. Glover hay ought not to b,
handled with horse fork, or, If it is, the
dump, which gets mounted up ia the cen
tire, ought to be thoroughly dispersed
around and not tramped mucn.
On one point it is difficult to speak toe
often or too strongly. Salt ought nsger to
be sprinkled on hay. but, instead OF that
air Stacked lime. Salt attracts mo sure
yellovs the hay and makes it intrin sically
poorer. IL cattle are made to go sh1fe on
salt IN winter they will eat exec(a5ls stuf
simply for the salt that is in il, AMI the
the farmer argues tina. he has saved hi,
hay" But hay oaght to stand on iss O w
merits. IF hay is poor for some Other
cause, weather beaten, for instance, or one
has a lot of oats (leavings) goo 1, bu
coarse, it is well enough to treat 1T witt
brine to tempt the stock; but to treat goo'
hay, when 1t is being moved away. wit
salt Is great mistake. On the other han,
air-slacked lime win absorb moisture, ant
thereby preserve hay without any iniur,
10 it's quality. have often put on lIme 3
thick that 1t covered my boots with
heavy coating in the winter when il wa
pitched out, yet the stock never refused o
seemed TO dislike il on that account.
swiIi-mnk Unwholesoms.
Prof. Brewer, OF the Sheffield scienti6